Brooks Pierce partner Kearns Davis has been appointed by the Honorable Karen J. Williams, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, to represent the Middle District of North Carolina on the Circuit’s Criminal Justice Act Appellate Panel Committee.

The Committee will establish eligibility standards, recommend attorney-members, and plan for the administration of the Circuit’s Appellate and Capital Appellate Panels.

Panel members will handle federal appeals in criminal cases – capital and non-capital – from North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland.

Kearns Davis leads Brooks Pierce’s practice in the areas of white-collar criminal defense, federal criminal trials and appeals, grand jury proceedings, and government investigations. His prior experience includes four years as an Assistant United States Attorney, where he prosecuted numerous felony trials and served as lead attorney in over one hundred investigations by federal agencies and grand juries.

Kearns has been recognized as one of North Carolina’s “Legal Elite” in the Criminal Law category by Business North Carolina magazine, and he currently chairs the North Carolina Bar Association’s Criminal Justice section.